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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 LB Aidan Siano commits to Owls

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Linebacker Aidan Siano from Prosper, Texas has committed to the Owls. He’s the fourth member of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

It’s been an eventful spring around the world. And while some things matter much more than football, the Owls have done their due diligence on the recruiting front. Rice has done all they can to ensure the future remains bright at South Main. Those efforts have focused on the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class, which is now adding a new member.

Aidan Siano, a linebacker from Prosper, Texas, has committed to the Owls. That’s the fourth commitment of this recruiting cycle following the earlier additions of offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe from Orange, CA, defensive lineman Blake Boenisch from Needville, TX and fellow linebacker Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall in Houston.

Siano follows Seymour as the second linebacker in the class. Both were early offers in January who have stayed in close contact with the Rice coaching staff throughout the process. Siano was back for spring practice and has been trending in the Owls’ direction for a while. Now he’s taken the step and gone all in.

After positive initial first impressions, everything else he saw at South Main continued to reinforce that this was the place for him.”Playing the best football and getting the best education was a no brainer,” Siano said of his decision, adding that he was happy to commit early in the cycle so that he can “focus on improving for this coming season and helping bring other players to the best college in the country.”

Before he takes the field, Siano is prepared. He’s a film junkie. “Being able to identify a formation and anticipate what play is coming is a huge way I set myself up [for success],” he said.

On the field, Siano is relentless. He’s aggressive at the point of attack, but nimble enough to shed blockers at the line of scrimmage and find the football. His “Football IQ” sets him apart from many of his peers. He’s the kind of player you trust to diagnose and react to plays as they develop. Then he goes and makes the tackle, from sideline to sideline.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 LB Kenny Seymour commits to Owls

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Linebacker Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall has committed to the Owls. He’s the third member of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

The commitment train has not slowed down for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class. Rice had no commitments in the class entering March. Over the course of a week, they’ve picked up three. Offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe from Orange, CA was first. Defensive lineman Blake Boenisch from Needville, TX was next. The Owls’ third pledge in four days on Wednesday came with the commitment of Houston’s own Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall.

Seymour is the first linebacker in the class and one of the Owls’ most sought-after candidates at the position. Like the prior two commitments, Rice was the first FBS program to offer Seymour, extending him an invitation to come play at South Main in mid-January. He later received offers from Dartmouth, Penn and Air Force.

The effectiveness with which Rice football recruiting is able to land their targets is second to none. Seymour marks the third of the Owls’ first two dozen offers to commit to Rice. The bulk of those offers (and commitments) came in the last eight weeks.

Seymour’s draw to the program was strong from the start. He cited the trajectory of the program as one of the reasons he knew Rice was the place for him. “The mindset of the players [is] cohesive with the coaching staff,” he said. “The trajectory is going up… and fast.”

On the field, there’s a lot to like about Seymour’s game. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker moves like he was fired out of a canon. He’s a tremendous tackler in the open field and an aggressive pursuer. He has a knack for finding the ball carrier, and he has the size and strength to take him down. He’ll slide into one of the insider linebacker spots when he arrives on campus.

The Rice linebacker room is one of the deepest on the team. Adding the right pieces at the position, like Seymour, will make them a mainstay on the defense for years to come. Seymour welcomes the opportunity and the competition. “I have every bit of faith that the [coaching staff] will set me up for success,” he said. His knowledge of the game and ability to process plays quickly and confidently will both serve him well at the next level.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 Defensive Lineman Blake Boenisch commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class is growing quickly. After a recent visit to campus, defensive lineman Blake Boenisch has committed to the Owls

Sometimes good things come in waves. Two days before Blake Boenisch committed the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class was a blank slate, waiting for prospective Owls to add their names to the list. On Sunday March 8, offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe made his pledge. He was the first of multiple new Owls to make their decisions public.

Less than 24 hours after Pepe came on board the Owls added another big man in the opposite trenches. Needville offensive lineman Blake Boenisch has committed to Rice Football. This 6-foot-4, 300-pound bruiser is the latest in a growing line of torchbearers for the Intellectual Brutality culture being established one man at a time.

Like Pepe, Rice was the first to extend an offer to Boenisch. That offer came on National Signing Day while the staff was putting the finishing touches on their 2020 haul. One of the Owls’ primary targets in their current class, Boenisch reciprocated the Owls’ interest following his visit during spring practices. He hit it off with defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun and came aboard soon afterward.

Boenisch prides himself on his strength in the trenches. “I’m best at just out-powering the opponent,” he said. His walk matches his talk, check out Boenisch deadlifting 625 pounds.

https://twitter.com/JamesSmithey10/status/1228154862514376704

Boenisch’s strength is part of what endeared him to the Rice coaching staff. For him, it was the atmosphere and the energy of the program as a whole. “I just loved the vibe at practice,” Boenisch said, adding that he “loved how much energy [the team] had” on the field.

When it comes to defensive lineman, particularly ones that play inside like Boenisch, moving people is the primary objective. Getting past the line and wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks is the icing on the top. Boenisch brings that kind of athleticism.

Take a quick peek at his highlights below. He takes up space, forces mistakes and knows where to put his hands to add an extra layer of protection. Boenisch is going to be a great fit at South Main.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 OL Faaeanuu Pepe commits to Owls

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Orange, California offensive lineman Faaenanuu Pepe has committed to the Owls. He is the first commitment of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

The ink had hardly dried on the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class before the Owls turned their attention to 2021. On National Signing Day Rice added four new members to their 2020 class. They issued seven offers to 2021 players. One of those seven was Orange, California offensive lineman Faaenauu Pepe.

The first commitment of the 2021 Rice Football Recruiting class, Faaenauu Pepe is a big addition — literally. Some listings have put him in the neighborhood of 320 to 330 pounds. After walking past him on a visit he looks bigger than that. Pepe is a people mover in the trenches and the perfect man to kick off the Intellectual Brutality culture of the upcoming class.

Much like their strategy with their 2020 class, Rice was the first to offer Pepe. Before anyone else could throw their hat in the ring, Pepe made his pledge. For him, the decision was easy. “I felt like Rice was the perfect place for me because the environment felt ‘home-like'”, he said, adding that the coaches and staff “made it feel like I was apart of the family.”

Pepe prides himself on his technique, which he credits much of to his uncle Jesse Sapolu who spent 15 years in the NFL, all with the San Francisco 49ers. He was a four-time Super Bowl champion and went to two Pro Bowls.

Having Sapolu as a mentor from his early years was huge for Pepe’s growth. That skill, plus an innate aggressiveness that comes with spending time in the trenches make Pepe an exciting prospect. Rice football preaches an NFL Curriculum. Pepe has already been living it.

Pepe pushed people around in the trenches in high school. That’s what people of his caliber should do against the defensive lineman unlucky enough to line up in front of them. Then he took it a step further, depositing would-be tacklers on their backs with impressive regularity. He’ll be a force for Rice on the offensive line for years to come.

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Rice Football Recruiting: An offer from the Owls means more

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The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class was a highly-rated, hand-picked collection of players. The numbers reflect the Owls’ effectiveness.

The world of college football recruiting is swathed in layers upon layers of grey. Who gets offered by whom makes local and sometimes even national news. Meanwhile, whether or not that offer is “committable” or not is largely kept hidden in the shadows.

The 2020 Rice football recruiting class provided a decidedly unique level of clarity. The Owls distanced themselves from their peers in the effectiveness and efficiency of their recruiting offers. Based on data released from Hero Sports, Rice offered the fewest players in the 2020 recruiting cycle among all Conference USA teams. See the graph below.

 

The Owls’ 70 offers were only the fewest in Conference USA. Rice tied Northwestern as the choosiest FBS programs in the nation. Stanford (74) and Washington (79) were the only other programs that offered less than 100 players.

Keep in mind, classes are capped at roughly 25 players each season and FBS rosters are limited to 85 scholarship players. Offering 98 defensive linemen — something Southern Miss decided to do in the 2020 class — goes well beyond both the 25-man and the 85-man thresholds.

On a per offer basis, no school in the Group of 5 was as effective as Rice. The Owls turned 27.1 percent of their offers into commitments. See the graph below.

A little more than one out of every four offered players became a signee in the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class. That’s more than double the Conference USA average 13.4 percent. It’s also significantly better than the national average, which hovers around 11 percent.

There are no trophies handed out for recruiting efficiency. But the line of sight offered by an offer from Rice football is second to none. The Owls do their homework before they extend an offer. If you get an offer from Rice, it’s rock solid.

** Data sourced from Hero Sports
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